A Name in the Wind
by Suilaid
Summary: After colliding rather violently into a sleeping Orc, Keana is thrown into a world she thought was just a fantasy, and learns many valuable lessons about honor, magic, and love.


She felt a cold breeze brush the strands of hair around her face, and Keana's eyes opened slowly. Her body was weightless, and yet she felt the weight of the world as though it lay on her shoulders, all at the same time. Confused, Keana strained to see in the eternal darkness, to no avail, and the wind whistled in her ears. She floated in this nothingness for quite some time, unable to see if she was going up or down. It was exhilarating and disorienting. Her body started to tingle, and she felt herself moving, the whistling increasing to an unbearable roar, until she abruptly crashed into something solid and soft. There was a muffled yell, and a brief struggle as limbs and cloth were tangled up. Keana suddenly found herself being thrown back onto a hard ground, and movement flashed above her. Her surroundings came whirling into her vision, and Keana could make out the shapes of tall evergreen trees and the burning embers of a small campfire. Before Keana could rise from the ground there was a male voice as he cursed, and the sound of steel rang in her ears. The next thing she knew Keana was confronted with an infuriated figure, and the cool edge of a steel sword was lain against her neck.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man growled, his voice deep. Keana blinked, a jolt of fear coursing through her body.

"I-I…"

"Don't think I will hesitate to kill you," he continued, his red eyes piercing into hers, and Keana realized she was staring at an Orc. His white tusks stood out against the darkness, and she could just make out the dark hue of his green skin. His muscled bulged against his shirt as he held his sword against her. Keana flinched when his hold on her arm tightened.

"I-I'm so sorry, I don't know where I am." Keana stuttered, feeling truly terrified. She resisted the urge to cry, and swallowed hard, wincing when the blade pressed into her sensitive skin like it was butter. "I don't even know how I got here," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" The Orc grumbled, clearly confused. "You blundered into me like a giant!"

"Seriously I don't k-know how I got here, I was sleeping in my bed and then I was being thrown into you-"

"Why should I believe you?" The Orc cut in, but he lessened the blade against her neck ever so slightly.

"I'm unarmed, and I have no idea where I am or what country this is, please…"  
Keana's hands had raised in front of his chest when the Orc had first pinned her down, and they shook while she plead her innocence.

The Orc stared at her, hard, his brows furrowed together in a frown. A few moments passed, and then he lowered his sword, placing it down on the ground beside her. He sat back and allowed Keana to sit up.

"Do you know where Skyrim is?" He asked, sheathing the sword.

Keana sucked in a deep breath, her eyes widening. _Is this for real?_ Her thoughts raced, _or is this some elaborate dream?_

"Um, no." She lied.

"And you don't know where you came from." It wasn't a question, but he sounded skeptical.

"I swear, I wouldn't have collided into a sleeping Orc, even I can see how dangerous that was. Please forgive me."

The Orc grunted, and rose to his feet. He was dressed in only a thin tunic and breeches, and had clearly been sleeping when the girl unceremoniously crashed into him. Keana watched him as he tossed another branch onto the fire and replaced his sword underneath his bedroll.

"What is your name?"

His voice was not angry, but Keana was still frightened. How did she end up in a world she knew to be just a fantasy? The sliver of a cut on her neck was testament to the fact that it felt all too real to be a dream.

"Keana, and yours?"

"Gruz."

"Gruz…" Keana paused, "Thank you for not killing me."

Gruz snorted, and Keana couldn't help but smile, but it was quickly replaced with a look of concern. Keana was unarmed, with no possessions, in the wilds of Skyrim with an Orc. Her breath hitched, and the Orc's sensitive hearing picked up on it. Gruz looked up at Keana, and sighed.

"I need to sleep, tomorrow will be a long day. Since you've got nothing, you can sleep in my bedroll for the night. We'll decide on things tomorrow."

Keana nodded, feeling grateful towards Gruz, and she rose from the ground. She looked down, and realized she was wearing pajamas, and a blush crept on her cheeks. Gruz also took notice of her strange clothing when she came over to him. His eyebrow rose up in a silent question, but he did not say anything.

"Wait.." Keana's voice drifted over to him, and Gruz's head snapped up. "We're sleeping in this… together?" She asked, her voice rising an octave.

"If you'd rather sleep on the cold hard ground with no blanket, then be my guest."

Keana looked down at the bedroll, and back up at him. It was awfully cold out, and she wasn't particularly fond of sleeping without a little warmth. She shrugged.

"Okay," she replied, and Keana waited until Gruz had settled down in the bedroll first before she followed suit. It was a strange thing for her to do, cozy up with a Orc who's race she thought only existed in a video game, but Keana had always had a fond spot for the green skinned mer, and she didn't find Gruz unpleasant to look at. He appeared to have a very tough exterior, but Keana could tell by his generosity and mercy with her that he must not be a bad person.

Gruz had settled on his side, and Keana gave him his space by facing her back to him, but they needed to be snug together in order to fit in it equally. Keana felt Gruz's body behind her, his arm was pressed against her back and it was uncomfortable, so she reached back and tugged at his arm. The Orc froze at first, but allowed Keana to pull his arm around her waist.

"You're warm," Keana murmured, feeling the heat of his body soak into her. She never expected to be spooning with an Orc her first night in Skyrim, but she had to admit it felt good, he was like a small furnace. Keana closed her eyes and snuggled down into the bedroll. Behind her, Gruz's body acted accordingly to having a young woman's body pressed against his, and his groin area stiffened considerably. Keana felt him as it pressed against her backside. She remained quiet.

"I'm not apologizing," Gruz grumbled, closing his eyes.

"I wasn't looking for one," Keana replied, her eyes still closed, and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Keana was the first to wake, and when she did it took a moment for her to remember where she was. The fire had long since died out, and rays of sunshine were beginning to peek through the canopy of the forest, a few of which were warming her face where she lay beside Gruz. Behind her, the Orc was beginning to stir as well, and he let go of Keana's waist, slipping his arm out from hers, and rolled onto his back. Keana yawned and sat up, looking down at the waking Gruz, seeing him fully for the first time. Last night it had been so dark, and everything had happened so fast that Keana only knew he was an Orc with red eyes. She studied him for a few minutes, for his eyes were still closed, and her eyes roamed over his features. He was big, a muscle packed Orsimer who was probably a very accomplished fighter. Keana could see the outlines of his pectoral muscles as they strained against his tunic while he stretched his arms above his head, and his forearms were speckled with a few light scars. The tip of Gruz's right tusk had been chipped off, while the other lay intact and flawlessly ended in a rounded point. He was ruggedly handsome, his skin tone a rich dark green, and Keana could see the shadow of stubble starting to form on his chiseled jaw. A thin red scar ran down the side of his right temple and ended at his jawline. Keana wondered what sort of stories came along with all those scars, when Gruz cracked one eye open and looked at her. His red eyes pierced into hers much like it had the night before, and Keana blushed, looking away. She had been caught staring.

"Why do you stare?" Gruz asked, he voice a sleepy grumble. Keana decided to be honest.

"I've… never seen an Orc before."

Gruz blinked, a look of surprise crossing his features momentarily, which were quickly smoothed to a neutral frown.

"Really? Do you know where you come from?"

"Yes," Keana replied quietly, unwilling to talk about Earth. "There are no Mer races where I come from."

"Strange place," Gruz grunted, and he threw the blanket back before rising to his feet. The Orc yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He busied himself with starting a fire for breakfast, and Keana got up from the bedroll and stretched as well, shivering in the morning cold.

_I don't even have shoes,_ Keana thought with a sigh, wiggling her toes in their fuzzy socks. It was embarrassing to be wearing nothing but purple pyjamas and fuzzy socks, in the middle of a forest with an Orc. Gruz took notice of her clothes for the second time, and he looked up at her from where he was crouching in front of the newly kindled fire.  
"What are you wearing?" He asked finally.

"Um, sleeping attire." Keana whispered, blushing.

"Well, I'll give you my spare set of clothes, and I've got a slightly dull sword you can have. Other than that, you're on your own."

"What?" Keana blurted, completely taken aback. "You mean… you're just going to leave me in the middle of a forest with no idea where to go?"

Gruz shrugged, indifferent to her response. He hastily consumed his breakfast and stood up again, turning to retrieve his discarded armor.

"That's not my responsibility," Gruz told her, as he began putting on particles of what looked like ebony armour. "You're lucky I didn't run you through last night, I had been completely asleep."

"I-I know, but… but…" Keana's eyes began to tear up, and she turned away from him. "Couldn't you just l-let me come along until we reach a settlement or city?"

"Look, Keana. I am an Orc adventurer. I cannot afford to look after some girl as well as myself."

Keana bit her lip, feeling fear settle in. She couldn't force Gruz to look after her until she reached a city, but she also didn't want to be left alone in the wilds of Skyrim. She definitely would not make it in the real world.

Gruz had finished putting his armor on and was rolling up his bedroll. Keana stood quietly by the fire, her arms wrapped around herself to keep from shivering, and she silently watched the Orc finish packing. When Gruz had secured his bedroll to the large satchel he carried, and slung it over his shoulder, he looked over at the silent girl before turning around and starting to walk towards the trees. Keana watched him go, feeling a tear slide down her cheek; she didn't know what the hell to do know that the only person she knew in Skyrim was leaving her and couldn't care less about his decision. It wasn't until Gruz was almost out of eyesight that he stopped walking and let out a long sigh. He tried to tell himself it was just a girl, some silly foreigner that had crashed into him in the middle of the night. He didn't owe her anything, but he also wasn't a monster. He knew how dangerous Skyrim was for even the most skilled of men, and so eventually those thoughts won him over. He turned around and took a deep breath.

"Are you coming, or am I supposed to stand here and wait all day?" He called out loud enough for Keana to hear. There were soft footsteps as a hastily dressed Keana ran towards him, a smile plastered on her face. She had accepted the clothes Gruz left for her, and had dropped her pajamas in the fire to burn.

"Are you serious, or are you just teasing?" She asked breathlessly, tugging down the tunic which was far too big for her.

"Come on, I don't have all day." Gruz replied gruffly, and he continued walking. An elated Keana followed closely behind him, feeling incredibly grateful that Gruz had changed his mind.

"Where are we headed?" She inquired.

"Winterhold."

"What's there?"

Gruz looked over at her.

"The Archmage wishes to see me."

* * *

A/N: Well hello there. I've started another fan fic, as you can see. I hope you enjoy it. This story won't follow the main Dragonborn quest because I'm tired of it, and that quest belongs to my story Fall From Earth. This will follow the DLC Dragonborn though. Sorry if there are any glaring mistakes, I did try my best but I'm not perfect.


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